Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-08-14

ntutu ub'NA fbc iCoutu pipt tukoubh
which the beer was slowly dripping.
He chung to the pipe for over five
minutes and then waddled out into the
middle OF the cellar floor. In five
minutes more the beer took effect and
he began to enjoy himself. He was no
longer stupid and awkward. He darted
bitber and yon about the cellar floor
he ran up the side of barrel and took
flying jump from it, and he seemed
determined to give every possible evil
dence Of bis agility. The spectators
in the dark corner OF the cellar burst
into loud laughter, and the rat sour
RED away into the hole from which he
he'd emerged when he came out to get
his drink.
HOW IT AFFECTS THEM.
Then the bartender conducted his
guests upstairs, and while the natural
ist took lemonade aud the rest of the
raliy imbibed something stronger, the
drink mixer said "Just as liquor
makes one man quarrelsome and an
other good-natured, so it causes one
animal TO be hilarious and another to
be overbearing. That old roach has
been drinking at this bar for two years,
TO my certain knowledge. He gets
drunk every day, but is never quarrel
some. Afy, on the other hand, is always
oyerbearinG, and when he gets drunk he
will invariably try to pick fight with
some ether fly. That old rat down
stairs is effected by stimulants in to-
tally different manner. lie lisa bloated
old guzzler, and when he is sober he
seems scarcely able to take care of him
self and doesn't appear to care what
becomes OF him. The minute he gets
drunk, however, he becomes spry and
Suspicious. He will frisk about the
cellar like mad, and there isn't Q cat or
a terrier in New York that could catch
him when he has bad his daily dose OF
beer. A monkey belonging to Null
berry Bend Italian organ-grinder used
TO come in here every day and get
drink.
Zone afternoon after he had been
drinking heavily he was attacked with
every symptom Of delirium tremens.
he hoped about in n dazed manner,
ss if trying to get away from something
Then be fell over in fit apd died"
The crowd about the bar, which had
grown to great proportions during the
bartender's lecture on natural history,
took parting drink and then departed.
When they had gone the bartender
turned to his employer, who was count
ing the proceeds that the party had
left with him, and said:
THAT roach and rat are worth 81 600
q year to this place, to say nothing of
an occasional drunken fly"
TEE DEGENERATION OF THE HUMAN
FORM.
For a couple of months 1 have gone
twice each week to some Turkish bath,
and have visited in this time all the
best baths in New York. The expert
ence has brought me to believe that
Congress should pass law compelling
every man to wear tights and providing
loads of inspection to prevent pad
ding. Nothing can be done for the
race from an artistic standpoint till it
really finds out how it looks, and no.
thing but extensive observation can ac-
complish that. In my tour among
he Turkish baths of New York
! have seen several thousand men
adorned only by thin rubber key-bands
around their necks. have seen not
one well formed man, and the only APP
proach to it / discovered was an at
iendant whose frame was well knit.
though rot particularly graceful. All
The strong men Of good general devel-
oumont were bow.legged, and the
straiqlt-limbed men had no flesh on
their bones. The broad-shouldered
men were hollow chested, and the men
with good chests had no muscular de-
velopmert Of legs or arms. Then
there were the fat men, awful to look
upon. 1t was depressing to see such
people, and nothing but q full-length
mirror saved me from the crime OF the
Pharisee.
1t NAV be claimed that those who
visit Turkish baths are mostly invalids,
and that consequently the standard of
physical excellence could not be high.
Int | do not believe that this is the
case. In my opinion the majority OF
those whom / saw were there simply TO
enjoy the luxury of the bath and to OBJ
tain its aid in enduring the hot wea-
Their. Some Of the fat men probably
came fer the purpose of reducing their
flesh, but the percentage is small. The
fact of the matter is that 80 men out OF
leo are so Informed as to be absolute
" painful spectacle to any one who
admires the human form divine. As to
women am an agnostic and a pessi'
mist. Common sense would help them,
hut ITS coming is merely an Utopiar
dream.
EXAMPLE AND REFORM.
II is mistake to suppose that an or
binary bathing costume shows man al
he is. 1t frequently makes him lool
worse sometimes better, but never O!
he is. Ordinary clothing is worse, o
course. | watched two men whom
had seen in the bath to observe how
they would look III street dress. Ih'
result was as expected. The stralgh
Int lean man, whose muscles seemed
hardly capable of holding him together
appeared of elegant figure on the street
while the attendant | have spoken o
looked clumsy, and his trousers couidn'
be made to hang properly around h!
ankles. be cause he had calf to hi
leg.
New York is probably no worse thar
the average city in this matter. Ger
taiply there is a need of reform. VIVA
car be done? Nothing for the presen
generation, but a great deal for tn
next. If child Is intelligently watch
ed from its earliest youth up, ant
taught the proper use Of its limbs an
muscles, much may be done to counter
act hereditary tendencies. There IS
large association of Germans in thu
city, one of whose worthiest objects
Just this. They propose to teach
child physically and mentally to max
him walk properly, carrying his arm
as be should, breathe scientifically, ex
ercise judiciously, and eat what is goo
~ HIM Tbio work will he done in th